A Puma spokesperson said the company's expiring kit supply deal with newly promoted Eintracht Braunschweig "has not been extended by mutual consent," according to Christian Schiebold of the BRAUNSCHWEIGER ZEITUNG. The spokesperson "did not reveal the reason for the contract termination." Puma had been the club's kit supplier since '07. Sources reported that the team "will from now on be supplied by Nike." Nike already has deals with Bundesliga teams in Bremen, Freiburg and Mainz. Insiders reported that "the new contract with Nike will bring in a mid six-digit amount" (BRAUNSCHWEIGER ZEITUNG, 6/6).

Russian gas company Gazprom will sponsor the St. Petersburg Yacht Club during the 2017 America's Cup. Gazprom will launch a new outfit in St. Petersburg called the "Sailing Academy." St. Petersburg Yacht Club will train sportsmen for joining the teams that would take part in the Olympics and other int'l competitions. The club will also create a team to compete in the 2017 America's Cup int'l regatta (Gazprom).

Chinese Internet provider Tencent has partnered with LeBron James, who will serve as spokesperson for NBA2K Online in China. The game is co-developed by Tencent Games, 2K and Visual Concepts China and based on the popular NBA 2K video game series. James will appear in advertising campaigns and other promotions to support the game in China, and will also provide input on game modes and content. Tencent will also create LeBron james social networking accounts in China (Tencent).

British Horseracing Authority CEO Paul Bittar said that British horse racing "will not suffer commercial damage from recent doping scandals if it shows it can handle them effectively, the head of the sport's governing body said on Tuesday," according to Keith Weir of REUTERS. However, Bittar said that given "the very challenging economic environment the sport does need more money from Britain's bookmakers to sustain the number and quality of races." Britain's second-largest sport after football in terms of revenue and spectator numbers, horse racing "has been hit by a series of scandals in recent months." In a report published Tuesday, Deloitte said that British horse racing has so far "weathered the impact of recession and reduced payments from the betting industry thanks to an increase in the value of media rights." The sport had a total value to the U.K. economy of £3.45B ($5.36B) in '12, according to the report. That was "slightly higher than the figure from 2008, the last time it was calculated." However, there are "tensions over how much money bookmakers including William Hill and Ladbrokes put into the sport." Horse racing "has long been at the heart of Britain's big betting industry," but funding via an annual levy on racing profits has fallen to some £75M from more than £100M in the last decade "after many bookmakers moved online operations offshore, out of the reach of the British authorities" (REUTERS, 6/11).

National Rugby League Wests Tigers signed with performance partner Velbexx-17. The Velbexx-17 balm is an anti-inflammatory analgesic balm and Velbexx-17 RRR is a bath salts soaked with essential herbal oils and infusions (Wests Tigers). ... Sailing clothing brand Musto has been chosen by the Volvo Ocean Race as its official supplier of sailing apparel and footwear for the next edition starting in Oct. '14 (Volvo Ocean Race). ... A UAE-based travel website "has become the first company in the region to sign up cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar as its brand ambassador" (GULF NEWS, 6/11).